Mark Hamill Talks Star Wars: Episode VII

Following Disney's Lucasfilm buyout on Tuesday, Star Wars poster boy Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker himself) revealed that he -- much like everyone else -- was caught completely by surprise when he heard the big news.

"I had no idea that George [Lucas] was going to sell to Disney until I read it online like everybody else," Hamill told EW. "He did tell us last summer about wanting to go on and do [Episodes] VII, VIII and IX, and that [newly appointed Lucasfilm president] Kathleen Kennedy would be doing them. He seems to be in a really good place. He's really happy. And that's nice because I know that when we were making the movies, he was not a jolly guy on set. [Laughs]"

So what did Lucas have to say last summer about the third trilogy? "Last August, he asked Carrie and I to have lunch with him and we did," he said. "I thought he was going to talk about either his retirement or the Star Wars TV series that I’ve heard about -- which I don't think we were going to be involved in anyway... So when he said, 'We decided we're going to do Episodes VII, VIII and IX,' I was just gobsmacked. 'What? Are you nuts?!' [Laughs]"

Continued Hamill, "I can see both sides of it. Because in a way, there was a beginning, a middle, and an end and we all lived happily ever after, and that's the way it should be -- and it's great that people have fond memories, if they do have fond memories. But on the other hand, there's this ravenous desire on the part of the true believers to have more and more and more material. It's one of those things: people either just don't care for it or are passionate about it. I guess that defines what cult movies are all about. We'll see."

And as for the buyout itself? "I have mixed feelings about that, but [Disney hasn't] done badly by Marvel and the Muppets and Pixar," Hamill responded. "It's one of those big decisions that at first seems unusual but then the more you look at it, the more it makes sense."

According to a recent interview with Lucas biographer Dale Pollock, the original outlines for Episodes VII, VIII and IX called for an older Luke Skywalker. While this is by no means evidence of anything -- after all, those particular drafts might already be scrapped -- there is still a chance that Hamill could reprise his role in the new films. Of course, for now, this all remains under the bubble of fanboy speculation. Asked whether Lucas brought up the possibility of Hamill or Fisher reprising their roles, Hamill told EW, "Well, no, he was just talking about writers and the fact that he wouldn't be directing. I guess he wanted us to know before everybody else knew. He said, 'Now you can’t tell anybody!' [Laughs] Even now I'm nervous about saying anything. I just don't know!"

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he still can't believe he can type "Episode VII" without having to add "Just Kidding." Geek out with him by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.